9-year-old drowns after going under water while playing at California lake, cops say

A 9-year-old boy drowned in Lake Elsinore after struggling to swim while playing with other children near docks, California sheriff’s officials reported.

A bystander helped another child who also began to struggle in the water to shore, but the 9-year-old went under and did not resurface at 10:35 a.m. Sunday, June 26, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Onlookers searched for the boy near Launch Pointe Beach but could not find him, sheriff’s officials said.

A sheriff’s dive team found his body about 2:30 p.m., the release said.

The sheriff’s office later identified the boy as Donte Clark of Palmdale.

His great-aunt, Dianiana Singletary, told KTLA that Donte did not know how to swim and was not wearing a life jacket while playing in the shallow water with friends.

Lake Elsinore is located southeast of Riverside and east of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published June 27, 2022 at 10:15 AM with the headline "9-year-old drowns after going under water while playing at California lake, cops say."